Systems Biology

A fundamental concept in systems biology is to represent processes within living cells as mathematical models. In this issue, Yosef and Regev (pp. 886–896) survey the current understanding on the temporal dynamics of gene expression and their underlying models of regulatory circuits. In the cover image, a murine immune dendritic cell is seen through a “systems biology” prism and is depicted as a blueprint with the interior systems of the cell reconstructed into such models. The cell image is courtesy of Alex Shalek, Jacob Robinson, and Hongkun Park (Harvard). Artwork by Sigrid Knemeyer, with modifications by Yvonne Blanco.